A customer forwarded me an email that looked suspicious but sort of legit as
well. Practicing a "better-safe-than-sorry" routine, she asked for my expert
opinion before opening. She deserves a High-Five! Here's Why:

There is a really nasty virus out there. The virus is called Crypto locker. It
generally spreads thru infected PDF files sent via email, but has been known to
spread via pictures and links as well. Once the attachment is opened, your
computer is history. So is all of the shared data on the server and attached
USB drives. The virus will encrypt every single file with a passphrase. It
displays a message explaining your files are encrypted. Please pay money.
Unfortunately, not everyone that pays, gets the files back. Some do, some don't.
Your only guaranteed recourse is to format (take the system back to factory new)
and restore data from backup. This assumes you have a backup. It also assumes
your backup device isn't permanently attached to your computer allowing the
crypto virus to infect the backup as well.

(As a side note: My college days taught me the true meaning of "assume". If you
haven't heard, I will share it here: Ass-U-Me. In English: When you AssUMe you
make an Ass out of You and Me.)

The
email that was forwarded to me said it was from HUD but the reply to address was
gmail. The download link, when hovered over, said it was linking to a site
procope.fi/dejavu. The virus has also been known to impersonate UPS, FedEx,
USPS, DHL tracking number alerts, banks and other government entities.

If you need assistance with setting up a local backup schedule for your computer
or would like to discuss the feasibility of off-site backups then please contact
us. As Benjamin Franklin said: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to
fail!”